Isolation and structural confirmation of the oligosaccharides containing α-D-fructofuranoside linkages isolated from fermented beverage of plant extracts.

Fermented beverage of plant extracts was prepared from the extracts of approximately 50 types of vegetables and fruits. Natural fermentation was carried out mainly by lactic acid bacteria (Leuconostoc spp.) and yeast (Zygosaccharomyces spp. and Pichia spp.). Two oligosaccharides containing an α-fructofuranoside linkage were detected in this beverage and isolated using carbon-Celite column chromatography and preparative HPLC. The structural confirmation of the saccharides was determined by methylation analysis, MALDI-TOF-MS, and NMR measurements. These saccharides were identified as α-D-fructofuranosyl-(2→6)-D-glucopyranose, which was isolated from a natural source for the first time, and a novel saccharide β-D-fructopyranosyl-(2→6)-α-D-fructofuranosyl-(2↔1)-α-D-glucopyranoside.